


Trial by Arms

by Merfilly



Series: Growing Up Jedi [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-21
Updated: 2016-10-21
Packaged: 2018-08-23 18:25:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8338057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: It's nearing end of the term, and that means an exhibition for Initiates considered advanced enough for possibly matching with a master of their own. Mara had not expected to be invited.





	

The one thing Mara had not told anyone was that she didn't actually understand the new lightsaber. It was functional, it was more powerful than her training one, and it sang with her Force signature. Mara rarely turned it on, and never where anyone could see it.

She was thankful Knight Ashla continued to encourage the use of the training sabers, for benefit of those who had not been successful in construction, and to prevent accidents. She did note that Galen didn't even carry his new one, if he had even made it. Luke had gone ahead, though he admitted to being puzzled at the green blade, when he'd initially thought it would be blue.

_"You saw blue at first, in your visions, but then a green one? So maybe the crystal latched onto your mature lightsaber thoughts."_

Mara has said the words to ease his mind over it, and resisted his efforts to pry the mystery of hers from her. Because if her words to him were true, that meant her own had very specific meaning as well.

Classes increased their intensity after Festival, as the Initiates were encouraged to pick up more duties around the Temple, helping fill the needs of an Order that stretched galaxy wide, but with more than half its people living far from Coruscant. It had left her little time to prod the mystery of her teacher, especially as she was trying hard to socialize more with Galen and Luke, solidifying their friendships.

Before she had gotten as far into solving any of her personal issues as she wanted, the term was coming to an end… and Knight Ashla, as the teacher all of them had, began handing out invitations to a melee exhibition to be held. Every one of them knew this was the traditional way of showing Initiates to Knights, or Masters, seeking new Padawans. Mara, just twelve, and only having completed one term, or nearly so, in the Temple, didn't expect one to land on her desk.

So she blinked up at the Togruta in surprise, only to get a smile back. "You were recommended by all three of your instructors, and outside sources that have observed you. Just because you go does not mean you have to accept a training bond."

"It will be an honor to show the skills you and they have taught me, Knight Ashla," Mara said before closing her mouth firmly.

Why, in saying that, did she see a wrinkled, almost melted face in front of her, yellow eyes peering deeply into her own? The air in the room was stifling, but she batted the feeling away, centering in the Force against the unwelcome false memory.

"Now, to those that received the invitations, training sabers will be provided, to insure no one has an advantage. I look forward to seeing all of you show your skills honorably."

+++

The exhibition, it turned out, was almost as fun as Murder-Ball. Mara had only been in supervised training matches, no more than four people involved at a time. This? This was _fun_. The Initiates were turned loose into the large salle, with various obstacles on the floor, and while there was no rule against teaming up, there were rules on when a person could be tagged as out. This happened to one or two young ones that turned on their teammates with sly treachery, instead of putting distance or a warning in place.

Honorable fighting was well and fine, Mara decided, for things like this, but she was Vod'e-raised, and took note of some of those maneuvers for the real world.

She was holding her own fairly well, keeping her footing, managing to avoid tangling in an alliance long enough to invite a betrayal or a familiarity with her style. She did wind up helping Luke several times, but was just ask quick to score points against him when they clashed separately.

She honestly wasn't paying attention to her points until an older initiate, a Twi'lek, managed an actual 'killing' blow against her, and she went to sit in the stands and watch it play out. Then, she looked at the score board, and saw she had actually acquitted herself in the top five at the point she was tagged out.

She couldn't wait to tell her mother how it had felt to use her lightsaber in such freestyle combat! 

She was intent on watching the others, not really paying attention to who was actually there to observe. She didn't honestly think she would be selected this young, not out of an Enclave. When Luke, however, was one of the last three out on the floor, she felt an intense wave of pride, and glanced over to the area with the Knights and Masters to see her uncle Anakin had made it in. That made her happy, seeing him sitting beside Master Obi-Wan. He deserved to see Luke excelling, and knew that had to be why he was here. He tended to avoid the Temple, and rarely came to Coruscant unless her aunt wanted him there for a function.

Luke was next out, and then the same Twi'lek that had taken her down bested the Wookiee, to be the last one standing. Mara scanned the Masters and Knights, to find Master Fisto watching the winner with interest. That made her curious; he rarely took padawans, if she remembered what Master Secura had said. Was that Initiate possibly related to Aayla Secura? That would make sense, but Mara hadn't heard anything through Vod'e gossip. She didn't see the Felucia enclave very often though.

Now it was time to mingle, and Mara rose from the benches, going down to congratulate friends on their scores, or ask about techniques, while quietly observing as the Knights and Masters mixed into the crowd of Initiates, little by little. She saw Anakin move toward Galen with definite intent, and that made her eyebrows go up into her hairline before she schooled her expression.

Obi-Wan had already staked out Luke, not that anyone had any doubts there. Luke had chosen his father's Master when he was still a boy, made the choice to be Temple-trained at that.

She noted a few other pairings happening, and smiled at one or two, silently evaluating how well she thought the pairs would match.

"Putting your military training to use?" came a voice at her side, and she forced herself not to jump. Instead she turned, just a little, to find Master Windu standing beside her, also watching the groupings dissolve into pairs.

"Master Windu."

"Initiate Tano. Interesting variation on the low strike you use. People need to watch out for your feet."

Mara half-smiled, then shook her head. "I did pull the connection, and it wasn't specifically against the rules."

"True." He glanced down at her. "Why one lightsaber?"

She half-shrugged. "I trained to the lightsaber and blaster. Effective combination in crowded fighting. Also, because I am not just my mother's child."

"No. No, you're not." Mace glanced out, nodding minutely to one of the other watchers. "Walk with me, Tano."

Her head was spinning, and she shoved it down. Just because a Master came to talk didn't mean they were making an offer. Master Windu had held the Order as its leader for many years, and he had clashed with a lot of the Naboo Enclave over the years. The Vod'e spoke decently of him at least, and he was one of the Jedi with a dedicated vod at his side most of the time. That meant a lot in her books, as Mara carefully evaluated the possible outcomes of this walk with the man. She would be ready, or at least hold her own, no matter what he meant to say.


End file.
